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Welcome to the final Effective Nurse Educators newsletter for 2023!

I want to genuinely thank you for reading. As a nursing instructor, I understand the demands on your time, and I am incredibly thankful that you choose to invest some of it in reading this newsletter. Your active participation enriches our community and contributes to the collective knowledge we share. Thank you for being a part of our journey.

I will return to your inbox on January 15th, sharing new ideas through a fresh series.

Behind the Build - Card Deck Edition 🏗️

Below is the final email in the "Behind the Build" series, and if you missed the first few, no problem! I got you!

• ​Week 1 - Introduction and Ideas
• ​Week 2 - Planning Process
• ​Week 3 - Early Edits
• ​Week 4 - Diving into Details

And now on to the final week of reflective recap!

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Before I share my progress, I want to share a few tools I have used in the process in hopes that you may also find them helpful in your teaching toolbox.

Helpful Tools 🧰

Canva: If you use slide presentations, I highly recommend using Canva. There is a slight learning curve if you have been using PowerPoint, but it is an improved design experience once you get going. And they have great templates to get you started.

AI: I wrote a series about AI in nursing education that you can read HERE, but using an AI tool has become a part of my workflow. But maybe not in the way you expect.

Getting started is one of the most challenging parts of any project. I have an awesome idea, but the first step in developing a draft can be painful. AI helps me to "get clay on the table." 🏺 It gives me a rough outline and puts something on a blank canvas. From there, I find it so much easier to start creating and molding the clay into the vision of my original idea. If you have not tried an AI tool yet, like Chat GPT, I encourage you to experiment next time you feel stuck at the starting line.

Collaboration: Connecting with other educators has given me life! When I created my first deck, I only shared it with my closest peers because I was so nervous about their feedback. I wanted it to be perfect before I let it see the light of day. But I have found so much joy, understanding, and purpose in sharing the early versions.

Instead of working away in the dark, I want to embrace sharing and collaborating. I have found more energy and perseverance through community. Learning to lean into others for questions, feedback, and inspiration is something I want to commit to more of in 2024. So, if you are interested in collaborating or testing my products, please reply to this email and let me know. I keep a database (Notion!) of potential testers, and I would love to connect!

So how far did I get? 🏃‍♀️

Well, it was not quite the sprint I hoped it would be. I have one deck started with two puzzles completed. Here are a few sample cards that I have been working on:

The truth is that I greatly overestimated my available energy during this period. During these few weeks, I had two travel engagements, a full schedule of holiday prep, and my girl's basketball events outside of creating.

I recognize that this is a common theme for me. Overestimating how much I can realistically complete leads to complicated feelings that I am not "productive" or that I am not making progress. But small, consistent, everyday steps are more likely to propel me to complete these next four decks than a full, burn-out sprint. As I mentioned in a previous email, I have been using the Sunsama tool to estimate how much I can realistically complete in a day or a week while maintaining my energy and still feeling productive.

While I hoped to have at least one deck to send to the illustrator, I am not disappointed. I am optimistic about this project's direction and proud that I got started on it, even with a challenging schedule. And I think that by the time this newsletter returns, I will have even more progress to share!

Talk soon, 👋
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Thank you for following along on this journey. As I mentioned, sharing my early, messy, unpolished work sometimes feels awkward. But it also helps in so many ways, like a guiding light on a dark path.

If you enjoyed this series (more behind-the-scenes style), email me and let me know. Or, if you have any other areas of nursing education you would like to explore, I would love to hear from you!

I wish you all a joyous, restful season between terms. Talk soon, Martha